A Day on Baffin Bay texas saltwater fishing, texas fishing, wadefishing, wading, bay fishing, speckled trout, redfish, snook, tarpon, texas redfish, texas speckled trout Every saltwater angler in Texas knows of Baffin Bay. At least every angler who has dreamed of catching a true trophy trout knows of it and has probably dreamt of fishing there. I certainly did. From the time I was a young child growing up on the upper Texas coast, I was very aware of Baffin. But, despite the allure of the mysterious bay, a trip that far south seemed out of reach. Ten years ago, when I first moved to the extreme lower coast of Texas, Baffin was still firmly planted in my brain. As I began spending more time on the clear waters of the Lower Laguna Madre, which produces plenty of top-end trout in its own right, the thought of Baffin began to fade. However, it never completely went away. And, every time I drove up Highway 77 through Riviera, my mind wandered a few miles east of the tiny town - into that rock-riddled estuary. It wasn't until I got serious about accepting an invitation to fish the fabled bay with Capt. Jim Onderdonk of Poco Loco Lodge, though, that I realized how close Baffin really was to my adopted waters to the south. However, after fishing it, I realize it is a world away. The wind was already beginning to pick up as Onderdonk, myself and fishing partner Shane Wilson idled away from the public dock in Kaufman Memorial Park under an unusually bright full moon. “I apologize for the water condition. Our water is usually the color and consistency of drilling mud. So, I would say it's a little off today,” joked Onderdonk. “The water was `crystal clear' Saturday - we could see almost eight inches below the surface. Conditions like that get us pretty excited.” I stared down at the dark water sliding beneath Onderdonk's 25-foot Shoalwater. Most guys I know wouldn't leave the dock in water like this. But, with the fabled Baffin Bay beckoning just beyond the horizon, it was inconceivable not to fish. As we skated across the surface of Cayo Del Grullo, Onderdonk pointed out a spot to our left. “Thursday I took my ranch hand out to do some prefishing,” the guide said. “He ended up with a 29 ½-inch speck out of that spot right there, which is known as Sandy Hook. We'll give that a shot a little later, but first I want to try a spot where we found `em a couple days ago.” We continued out of Cayo Del Grullo and crossed a short stretch of Baffin before Onderdonk brought the boat down off plane near Starvation Point at the opening of Alazan Bay. “This is where we slammed `em on Saturday,” Onderdonk said. “But, it looks like a couple of waders are on it. What we'll do is go below and see if we can get some action along the edges.” With that, Onderdonk positioned his boat a few hundred yards under the pair of wade fishermen and we piled out of the boat. After working to within about 200 yards of the waders without drawing a strike, Onderdonk motioned it was time to go. “I don't want to push up any closer on these guys,” our guide said. “We'll come back after they leave, but there are a few other spots we can hit in the meantime.” The decision not to crowd other anglers - whether they were in the water or in a boat - was made consistently throughout the day by Onderdonk. Although his courteous attitude toward other anglers caused us to shift location from time to time, it definitely made the day more pleasant for everyone. “I know what it's like to be on some fish and have someone blow over them,” Onderdonk explained when questioned about his etiquette. “I feel, as a guide, there are plenty of other spots that I know to fish. So, there's no reason for everyone to pile in on top of one another.” Our next couple stops were along the south shoreline of Baffin, near White Bluff and some of Baffin's famous “floating cabins.” The water near the shoreline was shallow and relatively clear, with a fair amount of grass on the bottom. At our first stop, Wilson waded the knee deep shallows while Onderdonk and I made our way to the waist-deep break. I was throwing a Morning Glory 5-inch Stanley Wedgetail Minnow, while Onderdonk pinned a wriggling Black Salty to his Kahle hook after I requested a demonstration on how the Baffin crew fishes live bait. We each missed a strike before we decided to move a little further down the shoreline “I prefer to fish with artificials,” Onderdonk explained on the walk back to the boat. “But, so many people coming here have heard so much about bait - croaker in particular - that we have to fish bait more often than not. However, recently I have begun throwing Black Salty's as opposed to croaker. I figure, if I am going to throw bait, the least I can do is thrown one that doesn't require a net dragging across the bottom and destroying sea grass to catch.” At our next stop on the south shoreline, Wilson once again stayed in the shallow water that was reminiscent of the Lower Laguna while Onderdonk and I made our way a bit deeper. This time Onderdonk, having demonstrated the Baffin method for fishing live bait, switched to his beloved soft plastics. It wasn't long before Wilson hooked a pair of keeper-sized trout. As we began shuffling towards him, Onderdonk also brought a small speck to hand. “I try to convince anglers to just keep enough fish for a few meals,” said Onderdonk as he gently released the fish back into the tannic water. “And, my preference is they release any fish over 20 or so inches. We usually catch plenty of schoolie-size fish to eat and there really isn't a reason to keep the bigger fish. There are some guys who do really good replicas if someone wants to put one on the wall.” By the time we got back in the boat, the wind was really howling. “When the wind gets up like this, it limits some of the spots we can fish,” said Onderdonk as we rode through Baffin, with him pointing out some of the more notable fishing spots such as White Bluff, Black Bluff, Tide Gauge Bar, Los Corrales and Kleberg Point. “But, we always can find a spot that's fishable. Of course, we're also used to fishing in conditions others along the coast aren't.” That statement was certainly obvious as Onderdonk pulled back on the throttle near Starvation Point. “Good, those guys are off that rock pile. Now we can fish it,” the guide remarked, as he began readying the anchor. Wilson and I glanced at the water, which was now muddy and choppy, then back at each other. However, placing faith in our guide's confidence, we descended the ladder on his transom and began wading toward the rock pile in the chest deep water. Within two casts, Wilson stuck a solid speck on a Morning Glory Wedgetail. He followed that fish up with another before he was joined by Onderdonk with his Plumtreuse Bass Assassin. I hung close to the boat - and my camera equipment - until each of them had caught and released a handful of specks and I had captured an adequate number of images. It wasn't long after I stowed the cameras and joined the lineup along the rockpile that I, too, was steadily sticking specks. Before long, all three of us were throwing 5-inch Wedgetails and enjoying steady action. None of the fish were “Baffin beasts,” but all were solid fish up to about 22-inches. “I'm not sure if we would have caught this many early on when those guys were here,” explained Onderdonk. “With a really bright full moon like we had last night, sometimes they don't turn on until about now (11 a.m.).” The action held for a few hours. Then, following an eight “short” hours on the water, we retired to the Poco Loco Lodge a short drive away in Falfurrias. There, we ate a satisfying meal prepared by Onderdonk's lovely wife, Betty, sat poolside to reflect upon the day, and, finally, spent some time on the lodge's skeet range. Although we didn't catch any trophy specks that day, the aura of Baffin was unmistakable. Each cast held the anticipation that it could connect with an over 30-inch fish. You could almost feel the big fish swimming by the rocks. So, despite not dragging a leg-length trout to hand, Baffin beckons to me stronger now than ever. Even after fishing it, the bay seems as mysterious now as it did thirty years ago. I will fish Baffin again. And, I am confident that one day its brown waters will yield a trophy trout to me. But, I hope the veil of mystery and mystique which hangs over Baffin Bay is never lifted. texas saltwater fishing, texas fishing, wadefishing, wading, bay fishing, speckled trout, redfish, snook, tarpon, texas redfish, texas speckled trout